Saturday, October 4, 2008

What’s Your Infant Breathing in the Nursery?



Changing tables, cribs and dressers may be emitting formaldehyde at levels that induce childhood allergies and asthma. So found the Maryland PIRG Foundation. In their report, In Toxic Baby Furniture: The Latest Case for Making Products Safe from the Start, the non-profit announced that tests from an independent laboratory show “formaldehyde emissions from common baby nursery furnishings can significantly contribute to indoor air pollution.”

“The more we look, the more we find chemicals in our children’s products at levels known to contribute to significant health problems ranging from asthma to cancer.

Unfortunately, formaldehyde is just the latest example,” said Johanna Neumann, state director of Maryland PIRG. Lab tests of 21 products often found in a baby nursery found several with, “an increased risk of developing allergies and asthma…the Child Craft Oak Crib emitted the highest levels of formaldehyde.”

What if every parent asked their state legislators to back these recommendations from the Maryland PIRG Foundation, “to protect children from exposure to toxic chemicals?

• Require chemical manufacturers to prove their chemicals are safe before allowing them to be used in consumer products,

• Empower state regulators to restrict or ban the manufacture and use of chemicals that pose potential dangers to human health or the environment, and

• Ensure the public has access to information about chemicals used in consumer products and the potential health impacts they pose.”

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